Paul Hastings Reviews

Pros

Friendly staff, hard working attorneys, and great management. The DC office location is very convenient (right next to the metro).

Cons

Work can be very intense and stressful during trial due to the complexity of the issues.

Advice to Senior Management

Communication to attorneys and between attorneys could be worked on.

Pros

Pay is competent, especially if you add overtime on top of this. Collegial atmosphere among peers, but there is a very clear-cut distinction between who's a lawyer and who's on staff.

Cons

No longer care to hear about the constant reasons for mediocre pay raises or cuts due to the economy while there is staff being lavished with private limo transportation to/from work - for that the firm should not be wasting money.

Advice to Senior Management

The firm is long overdue for brand new, fresh management.

Pros

Good work environment, fun people, relaxing, company events and benefits. Managers try to communicate with you and are always open door and very accessible. Managers are always around. People don't keep tabs on you. Not a place that will easily fire anyone because they're a law firm. Very strict on employee laws which is good.. and sometimes bad in how inflexible it is.

Cons

Very difficult to move up, promotion based on seniority, and people are there for a very long time. LA office has multiple opportunities in different fields. Technologically speaking, they're a little behind and the office is a little old so they're less aware of the resources out there.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire people with more technical experience, pay attention to whether or not your employees enjoy their work (not just the environment), and find ways to help them grow and learn other skills.

Pros

lots of Attorney development events

Cons

Limited long term career prospects

Pros

It's a good place to work to gain large law firm experience. The pay scale is higher than other top firms.

Cons

Management is always in disarray. Attrition is high. There is little collegiality among workers. There is a clear distinction between attorneys and staff that I have not experienced at other firms. Support staff is paid well at Paul Hastings for a reason!

Advice to Senior Management

Treat staff with respect. Employee loyalty is paramount to the success of a firm. Loyalty is lost when departments are constantly restructuring and employees are fearing for their job. The smart employees go to another firm and valuable talent is lost.

Pros

In these times nice place to work

Cons

Some attorneys difficult to work with.

Advice to Senior Management

n/a

Pros

- high quality legal work
- management matches competition in salary/ benefits
- friendly/ collegial environment
- great system for information sharing
- excellent name recognition
- excellent summer program

Cons

- demanding billable hour requirements (but comparable to other firms of its size)
- "unlimited" vacation policy is unfair as between associates and does not match the competition (which typically provides 3 weeks of vacation to associates).

Advice to Senior Management

change the vacation policy to match the competition by providing at least 3 weeks of guaranteed time off for all associates.

Pros

smart people; good pay; interesting cases

Cons

partners are overwhelming at times; long long hours

Pros

The salary is the best thing about Paul Hastings. If you are an attorney and money is your thing, Paul Hastings is for you.

Cons

Like all big law firms, Paul Hastings is known for working its attorneys -- both associates and partners -- hard.

Pros

To get a quick glance at corporate law or something for students out of college trying to get something on the resume. A firm as large as PHJW created a separate group to take care of Conflicts Research. By working on what a lawyer or a paralegal would do in any other firm, one gets a feel of the speed and complexity of a international firm. Money and OT is available and pretty good for students out of college. One can learn enough to understand that law is what they want to pursue or if corporate law isn't exactly it.

Cons

Unless you are a lawyer, you aren't part of the "team." This works in two ways. One can get inspired to become a lawyer or one can be dissuaded by how elitist large law firms can be. PHJW is also famous for the massive profit per Partner. Thus they haven't poured in money into the conflicts dept. But this may also be poor managment in the conflicts dept. The managers treat the lawyers not as equals but as demi-gods. This results in a dept culture that speaks and treats the attorneys in a ridiculous way. All in all, it's a glorified paralegal position.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior Management should recognize that many of the people in Conflicts Research are former students and spending time with them will really shepherd them into law or at least give them invaluable advice.